Pulling over mechanism

ABSTRACT

A pulling over mechanism for stretching about a last the toe portion of an upper that is mounted on the last preparatory to wiping the margin of the toe portion of the upper against an insole that is located on the last bottom. The mechanism includes pincers jaws that are caused to grip the upper margin under relatively light force while the last is raised to allow the upper margin to slip between the pincers jaws. After the last has completed its rise, the pincers jaws are caused to grip the upper margin under relatively heavy force so as to preclude slippage of the margin between the pincers jaws if the pincers should be lowered to relocate the stretched upper on the last.

i United StatesPatent 1191 Lindsey Sept. 2, 1975 PULLING OVER NIECHANISMPrimary E\'mninerPatrick D. Lawson 1751 lnventor: William (I Lindsey.Milford. Mass. T JJ R (Jordon [73] Assi nee: International Shoe MachineI w g Corporation, Nashua, NH. ABSIRACT [22] Filed: p 12 1974 A pullingover mechanism for stretching about a last the toe portion of an upperthat is mounted on the last [21] Appl. No.: 505,412 preparatory towiping the margin of the toe portion of the upper against an insole thatis located on the last [52] US. Cl. 12/145 bottom The mechanism includspincers w that are 51 Int. (:1. A431) 23/00 used 9 the W under relatvely58 Field of Search 12/145 9-1 1.3 the the upper to slip between thepincers jaws. After the last has [56] References Cited completed itsrise, the pincers jaws are caused to grip I j the upper margin underrelat1vely heavy force so as to L'NITED SIA] ES PA'I hNls precludeslippage of the margin between the pincers 3,233,261 2/1 66 Kam orizlnCt 211. 13/145 jaws if the pincers should be lowered to relocate the3,579,693 5/1971 Robinson 12/14.5 Stretched upper on the last. 3,715,7672/1973 Muhlbach et a1 12/145 6 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEF2191s 3, 902.21 1

Slim

PATENTEDSEP 2 '97s SHEET FIG: 3

PATENTEDSEP zirs 3. 902.21 1

sum 4 PATENTEUSEFZiQYB 3,912,211

SHEET 5 FIG 5 PATENTEDSEP' 2l975 3, 902.211

saw 6 PATENTEDSEP'2I975 3 902 211 SHEET FIG 7 PATENTED SEP 2 I975 SHEETPATENTED SEP 2 SHEET PULLING OVER MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONport position to an upper support position. It is also known practice,after the support has completed its rise, to impart, if desired,downward movement to the pincers jaws to thereby relocate the stretchedupper about the last if the stretched upper is not properly located atthe completion of the rise of the shoe assembly.

With the recent introduction of knob nose shoes having a knob projectingupwardly of the toe portion of the vamp of the upper, greater stresseshave been imparted to the portion of the upper stretched about the knobduring the rise of the shoe assembly while the upper margin is grippedbetween the pincers jaws. At times, this has caused a tearingor'rupturing of that part of the upper which is bearing against theknob. In order to alleviate this problem, the force applied to the uppermargin by the pincers has been reduced so as to permit some slippage ofthe upper margin between the pincers jaws during the rise of the shoeassembly. However, when this pincers force is so reduced, the upper alsoundesirably tends to slip between the pincers jaws if the pincers jawsare lowered, subsequent to the rise of the shoe assembly, for thepurpose of relocating the stretched upper about the last.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention solves the problem of tearing orrupturing the upper of knob nose shoes during the rise of the shoeassembly while the upper margin is gripped by the pincers jaws tostretch the upper about the last while enabling the stretchedupper to berelocated on the last by a downward movement of the pincers after theshoe assembly has completed its rise. This is accom plished by providingmechanism that imparts a relatively light gripping force by the pincersjaws to the upper margin during the rise of the shoe assembly so as topermit slippage of the upper margin between the pincers jaws during thisrise and that imparts a relatively heavy gripping force by the pincersjaws to the upper margin after the shoe assembly has completed its riseso that the pincers may be lowered to relocate the stretched upper onthe last between the pincers jaws.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view of a pulling over andtoe lasting machine incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of a shoe assembly support;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of a toe post;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a pincers base;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of a toe pincers assembly;

FIG. 7 is an elevation of a side pincers assembly;

FIG. 8 is a partially sectional elevation of a pincers assembly;

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a pincers;

FIG. 10 is a view taken on line l0-l0 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a view of a valve actuating mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of a portion of the machine control;

FIG. 13 is a representation of a shoe assembly in the machine;

FIG. 13A is a view taken on the line l3Al3A of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 13B is a view taken on the line I3BI3B of FIG. 13A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, themachine frame incor-f porates a base plate 12 that has a sleeve 14extending downwardly therefrom. For convenience of operation, themachine is inclined about 30 degrees from the horizontal. However, partsextending in the direction of the plate 12 will be referred to asextending horizontally and parts extending in the direction of thesleeve 14 will be referred to as extending vertically. The operatorisintended to be located in front of the machine as seen in FIG. 1, and adirection extending toward the operais secured to the piston rod 22 ofthe motor 16 to extend vertically and be slidable within the sleeve 14.A roller 24, bolted to the sleeve 14, is received in a vertical slot 26in the post to preclude rotation of the post about the axis of thesleeve.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a block 28 extends later- I ally of the post20 through a slot 30 in the sleeve 14 and va plate 32 is affixed to theblock 28. A strip 34 is mounted to the plate 32 for vertical movementby;

means that includes studs 36 and 38 affixed to the plate 32 thatrespectively extend through vertical slots 40 and 42 in the strip 34. Aflange 44 that is rigid with the plate 32 is mounted to the stud 36. Apin 46 is rigidly mounted to the bottom of the strip 34. A tensionspring 48 extending between andconnected to the flange 44 and the pin 46yieldably urges the strip 34 upwardly to the extent permitted by theslots 40 and 42. A flange 49 at the top of the strip 34 is below and invertical registry with a stud 50 that is mounted to the plate 12. A

valve 52 is mounted to a flange 54 that is secured to the plate 32. Theactuator 56 of the valve 52 is below and in vertical registry with thepin 46.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mount 58 is secured to the top of the toe post 20and an insole rest 60 is pivoted to the top of the mount 58 by a pivotpin 61.

An air actuated motor 62 is seated within the hollow of the toe post 20near its top. The piston rod 64 of the motor 62 extends upwardly of themotor 62 and is connected to a post 66. The top of the post 66 issecured to a U-shaped cement applicator 68 (see FIG. 1) that extendsabout the insole rest 60.

A toe bar 70, located rearwardly of the applicator 68 and the insolerest 60, is connected to a post 72 that is mounted for heightwisemovement in the mount 58. The toe bar is yieldably urged upwardly by atension spring 74 that is connected to and extends between a pin 76anchored to the mount 58 and a pin 78 anchored to the post 72. I

The pivot pin 61 pivotally supports a lever 80 intermediate its ends.The back of the lever 80 is secured to the insole rest 60 and the frontof the lever 80, which extends downwardly of the pivot pin 61, has aroller 82 mounted thereto. A bracket 84 is connected to the plate 12 andan air operated motor 86 is mounted to the bracket 84. The roller 82 isyieldably urged against the piston rod 88 of the motor 86 by a tensionspring 90 that is mounted to and extends between the motor 86 and lever80.

A pincers base 92 (FIGS. 2 and is anchored to the top of the base plate12. The base 92 has a opening 93 that slidably receives the toe post 20.A toe pincers assembly 94 is mounted to and extends upwardly of the rearend of the pincers base 92 and three side pincers assemblies 96 aremounted to and extend upwardly of the pincers base 92 rearwardly of thetoe pincers assembly 94 on each side of the toe pincers assembly 94. Therearmost side pincers assemblies 96 closest to the toe pincers assembly94 are corner pincers assemblies, the forwardmost side pincers 96assemblies furthermost from the toe pincers assembly 94 are ball pincersassemblies and the side pincers assemblies 96 between the corner pincersassemblies and the ball pincers assemblies are forepart pincersassemblies.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, each pincers assembly comprises an air actuatedmotor 98. The piston rod 100 of each motor 98 has an air actuated motor102 connected thereto that is slidably mounted in its associated motor98. An inlet pipe 104 of each motor 102 rides in a slot 106 formed inits associated motor 98 to preclude rotation of the motors 102 withrespect to the motors 98. A pincers 108 is mounted to the top 110 ofeach motor 102. Each pincers 108 has an inner pincers jaw I12 and anouter pincers jaw 114, both jaws being piv oted to a motor top I by apivot pin 116. A coil spring 118 extending between the motor top 110 andthe outer jaw 114 acts to yieldably urge the outer jaw 114counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 9 about the axis of the pivot pin 116.The jaws 112 and 114 respectively have legs 120 and 122 that dependdownwardly of the pivot pin 116. The outward movement of the jaw 114 bythe spring 118 causes the leg 122 to swing counterclockwise (FIG. 9)with a prong 124 on the leg 122 engaging the leg 120 to thus swing theinner jaw 112 counterclockwise until the leg 120 abuts a wall 126 of themotor top 110. In this position, the jaws 1 12 and 114 are spaced fromeach other as indicated in FIG. 9.

The piston rod 128 of each motor 102 has a pm 130 mounted to its topthat is slidable in slots 132 in the motor top 110. A cam roll 134 ismounted on the pin 130 and is movable, as described below, betweenfacing cam follower surfaces 136 and 138 on the jaw legs I and 122 inresponse to upward movement of the piston rod 128.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 11, five handles 140 are pivotally mounted tothe machine frame and each handle 140 is connected to the valve spool142 of a valve 144, the valves 144 also being mounted to the machineframe.

In the idle condition of the machine: the piston rod 22 is retractedinto the motor 16 so that the insole rest 60 is in a lowered positionwith the flange 49 located spacedly above the stud 50 and the valveactuator 56 located spacedly below the pin 46; the piston rod 64 isretracted into the motor 62 ao that the cement applicator 68 is at alower level than the insole rest 60 as shown in FIG. 2; the piston rod88 is retracted into the motor 86; the piston rods 100 are projectedupwardly of the motors 98 so that the motors 102 and the pincers 108 arein upper positions with respect to the pincers plate 92; and the pistonrods 128 are retracted into the motors 102 so that the cam rolls 134 arelocated spacedly below the cam follower surfaces 136, 138, as indicatedin FIG. 9, thus enabling the springs 118 to maintain the pincers jaws112 in the open positions indicated in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 13, 13A and 138. a shoe assembly 146 is presentedbottom-down to the machine. The shoe assembly 146 comprises a shoeinsole 148 located on the bottom of a last 150 and a shoe upper 152draped over the last. The top of the toe end of the last has an upwardlyprojecting knob 154. The insole 148 is placed by the operator againstthe insole rest 60, which thus constitutes a shoe assembly support, andthe toe end of the last 150 is caused to bear against the toe bar 70. Atthis time, with the machine in its idle condition, all of the pincers108 are located above the insole 148 and the margin of the upper 152 isinserted between the open jaws of all of the pincersv FIG. 12schematically illustrates a portion of the pneumatic control circuit ofthe machine. The control for the motor 102 shown in this figure isillustrative of the controls for the motors 102 for the toe pincersassembly 94 and for those side pincers assemblies 96 that consist of thecorner pincers assemblies and the forepart pincers assemblies.

After the upper margin has been inserted between the open jaws of all ofthe pincers 108, the jaws 112, l 14 of all of the pincers assemblies arecaused to grip the upper margin under a relatively heavy gripping force.With respect to all of the pincers assemblies. except the ball pincersassemblies. this is caused by shifting a valve 156which enablespressurized air to pass under full line pressure from a source 158through the valve 156, a valve 159, a spring return valve 160, a line162, a shuttle valve 164 and a line 166 to the head end ofa motor 102 toactuate the motor 102 to raise its piston rod 128. The rise of thepiston rod 128 raises the cam roll 134, which acts as a pincers closingmember, so as to cause the cam roll 134 to move between the cam followersurfaces 136 and 138 and swing the jaw leg I22 away from the jaw leg 120to thereby swing the jaw 114 against the jaw 112 with the relativelyhigh force imparted by the full line pressure of the air in the line 166to thereby cause the jaws 112, 114 to close and grip the upper margin.During the rise of the cam roll 134 between the cam follower surfaces136, 138, the cam follower surfaces are upwardly convergent and the camroll moves upwardly between the cam follower surfaces under theyieldable force of pressurized air until it meets resistance to movementcaused by the gripping action of the jaws 112, 114.

The motor 16 is retained in its idle position by pressurized air passingfrom the source 158 through a line 163, a valve and a line 167 to therod end of the motor 16. The valve 165 is maintained in position toenable the pressurized air to flow through it to the rod end of themotor 16 by pressurized air flowing from the source 158, the line 163, aline 168, a valve 170 and a pilot line 172 to the left side of the valve165. The aforementioned shifting of the valve 156 enables pressurizedair to flow from the valve 156 through a pilot line 174 to the valve 170to shift the valve 170 and thus cut off the flow of pressurized air tothe valve 165 through the pilot line 172. The shifting of the valve 156also enables pressurized air to flow from the line 174 through a pilotline 176 to the right side of the valve 165 to thereby shift the valve165. The shifting of the valve 165 cuts off the flow of pressurized airin the line 167 and enables pressurized air to flow from the valve 165through a line 178 to the blind end of the motor 16 to thus actuate themotor 16 to raise its piston rod 16 and the parts, including the toepost 20 and the insole rest 60, mounted to the piston rod 16.

The shifting of the valve 170 also enables pressurized air to flow fromthe valve 170 through a line 180, a valve 182 and a pilot line 184 tothe valve 160 to shift the valve 160 and thus cut off the flow of highpressure air flowing under full line pressure to" the motor 102 throughthe line 162. With this cutting off of the flow of high pressure air tothe motor 102, air under relatively low pressure flows to the motor 102from the valve 159 through a line 186, a pressure regulator 188 set atthe relatively low pressure, the shuttle valve 164 and the line 166.

As the toe post 20 completes its rise, the flange 49 engages the stud 50to thereby lower the strip 34 relative to the plate 32 which causes thepin 46 to engage the actuator 56 and thus shift and open the valve 52.The opening of the valve 52 enables pressurized air to flow from thesource 158 through a line 190, the valve 52 and a pilot line 192 to thevalve 182 to shift the valve 182 to closed position and thus cut off theflow of pressurized air through the pilot line 184 to the valve 160thereby enabling the return spring of the valve 160 to return this valveto open position. The opening of the valve 160 enables air under therelatively high full line pressure to again flow to the motor 102through the line 162, the shuttle valve 164 and the line 166.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the upper margin is gripped bythe stationary pincers 108 of the toe, corner and forepart pincersassemblies diring the rise the show assembly 146, this rise being causedby the actuation of the motor 16 to raise the insole rest 60. The ballpincers assemblies may be forced downwardly under relatively lowpressure to force the pincers 108 of these pincers assemblies downwardlyduring the rise of the shoe assembly. This rise causes the upper 152 tobe stretched tightly about the vamp of the last 150. This stretchingeffect is enhanced by actuating the motor 86 to project its piston rod88 to thereby swing the insole rest 60, together with the shoe assembly146, counter clockwise as seen in FIG. 2 about the axis of the pivot pin61. This stretching effect may also be enhanced by actuating the motors98 of the ball pincers assemblies 96 to move their piston rods 100,together with their pincers 108, downwardly during the upward movementof the shoe assembly 146. The relatively low pressure imparted by themotors 102 of the toe pincers assembly 94, the corner pincers assembly96 and the forepart pincers assemblies 96 to the piston rods 128 duringthe rise of the shoe assembly 146 lessens the upwardly directed forceapplied by the cam rolls 134 to the upwardly convergent followersurfaces 136, 138 of the pincers 108 of these pincers assemblies tothereby relax to some extend the gripping force applied against themargin of the upper 152 by the jaws 112, 114 of these pincers assembliesthereby enabling the upper margin to slip to some extent between thesejaws during the rise of the shoe assembly. As stated above the last 150of the shoe assembly 146 operated on by this machine has an upwardlyprojecting knob 154 at its toe end. This knob creates a stress on theupper 152 being stretched about the last 150 during the rise of the shoeassembly 146 while the upper margin is being gripped by the pincers 108of the toe pincers assembly, the corner pincers assemblies and theforepart pincers assemblies, which stress could tear or rupture theupper. By enabling the upper margin to slp between the pincers jawsduring the rise of the shoe assembly. this tearing or rupturing of theupper is avoided. When the shoe assembly 146 has completed its rise, thepincers 108 of all of the pincers assemblies 94, 96 are gripping theupper margin firmly under the relatively heavy force imparted by thehigh pressure of the motors 102 so that the upper margin cannot slipbetween the pincers jaws 112, 114 during the below described relocationof the upper 152 on the last 150.

The motors 98 of the toe pincers assembly, the corner pincers assembliesand the fore-part pincers assemblies are maintained in their idlepositions with the piston rods of these assemblies projected upwardly oftheir motors 98 by pressurized air passing from the source to thesemotors through certain of the valves 144. Should the operator find thatthe strectched upper 152 is not properly located on or stretched aboutthe last 150, he may move an appropriate handle to shift the associatedvalve 144 which will actuate the associated motor 98 to retract itspiston rod, 100 downwardly and thereby force the associated pincers 108downwardly while the pincers is firmly gripping the upper margin underthe relatively heavy force. Others of the valves 144 are connected tothe ball pincers assemblies in the manner shown in US. Pat. No.3,233,261 so that the associated handles 140 may so actuate the motors98 of the ball pincers assemblies as to either relieve the downwardlydirected force imparted to the upper by .the pincers 108 of theseassemblies by the associated motors 98 or to increase these downwardlydirected forces. In this manner, the stretched upper 152, if it is foundto be desirable. may be relocated on the last 150.

The sequence of the remainder of the machine cycle is generally similarto that of the machine disclosed in British Pat. specification No.1,341,967. Referring to FIG. 1, a heel clamp 194 is brought to bearagainst the heel end of the shoe assembly 146, a toe hold-down 196 isbrought to bear against the top of the vamp of the shoe assembly 146,the motor 62 is actuated to raise the cement applicator 68 against theinsole 148 and cement is extruded from the cement applicator onto theinsole, and a slide plate (not shown) which carries a toe pad 198 andtoe wipers 200 is caused to move forwardly to a position wherein the toepad clamps the toe portion of the upper 152 against the last 150. Duringthe forward movement of the slide plate, an arm 202 of a bell crank thatis mounted to the toe pincers assembly 94 is swing clockwise as seen inFIG. 6 to swing an arm 204 of this bell crank downwardly. The downwardlymoving arm 204 engages a ledge 206 (FIG. 2) mounted to the toe bar 70 tothus move the toe bar and the post 72 downwardly against the force ofthe spring 74 to prevent the toe bar from intefering with the toe wipers200 during the below described wiping stroke. This is followed by aforward and inward movement of the toe wipers with respect to the nowstationary slide plate in a wiping stroke to cause the toe wipers towipe the toe portion of the margin of the upper 152 against the insole148 and bond the upper margin to the insole by means of the cement.Prior to the completion of the wiping stroke,.all of the motors 102 areactuated to open all of the pincers 108 to enable the pincers to releasethe upper margin, the motor 62 is actuated to lower thecement'applicator 68 and the motor 16 is actuated to lower the insolerest 60. At the completion of the wiping stroke the wiped toe portion ofthe shoe assembly 146 is supported by the toe wipers 200 and increasedpressure is applied by the toe hold-down 196 against the top of the shoeassembly 146 to thereby provide a relatively heavy bedding pressurebetween the now wiped-in upper margin and the toe wipers 200. After thebedding pressure has been applied for a predetermined time interval, themachine parts are caused to be returned to their idle positions and theshoe assembly 146 is released from the machine.

] claim:

1. A pulling over mechanism comprising: a support, mounted forheightwise movement between lower and upper support positions, forsupporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that includes a last having anupper mounted thereon; a pincers formed of a pair of jaws that areclosable towards each other from an open position 'wherein the jaws arespaced from each other;

means mounting the pincers for heightwise movement;

pincers closing means operable to impart closing movement to the pincersjaws under a variable force; means retaining the pincers in an upperpincers position; means initially retaining the support in said lowersupport position; means thereafter raising the support from said lowersupport position to said upper support position to thereby raise theshoe assembly; means, effective during said rise of the support, tocause the pincers closing means to impart closing movement to thepincers jaws under a relatively light force against the mar gin of the.upper which is inserted between the jaws; control means, effective whenthe support has arrived at said upper support position, to cause thepincers closing means to impart closing movement to the pincers jawsunder a relatively heavy force; and means thereafter enabling thepincers to be lowered from said upper pincers position.

2. The mechanism as defined in claim 1 further com prising: meansresponsive to the arrival of the support at said upper support positionto operate said control means.

3. The mechanism as defined in claim 2 further comprising: a post, towhich the support is secured, mounted for heightwise movement; meansinitially retaining the post in a lower position to thereby retain thesupport in said lower support position; means for raising the post tothereby raise the support to said upper support position; means mountingsaid control means to said post for heightwise movement therewith; anactuator, located in registry with the control means above the controlmeans, mounted to the post for heightwise movement; means yieldablyurging the actuator upwardly with respect to the post; and a stud sofixedly lo cated above the actuator in registry with the actuator as tolower the actuator with respect to the post and thus cause the actuatorto actuate the control means when the post has raised the support tosaid upper support position.

4. A pulling over mechanism comprising: a support, mounted forheightwise movement between lower and upper support positions, forsupporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that includes a last having anupper mounted thereon; a pincers base; a first motor, mounted to saidpincers base, having a first rod that is movable heightwise in responseto actuation of said first motor; a second motor, connected to saidfirst rod, having a second rod that is movable heightwise in response toactuation of said second motor; a pincers, mounted to said second motor,formed of a pair ofjaws that are closable towards each other from anopen position wherein the jaws are spaced from each other; a pincersclosing member connected to the second rod; said pincers jaws and saidpincers closing member being so constructed and arranged as to cause thepincers closing member to close thejaws, in response to the raising ofthe second rod, an amount that is proportional to the elevation of thepincers closing member by the second rod; means causing the first motorto raise the first rod to thereby retain the pincers in an upper pincersposition; means initially retaining the support in said lower supportposition; means thereafter raising the support from said lower supportposition to said upper support position to thereby raise the shoeassembly; means, effective during said rise of the support, to cause thesecond motor to move the second rod up wardly under relatively lowpressure to thereby cause the pincers closing member to impart closingmove ment to the pincers jaws under a relatively light force against themargin of the upper which is inserted between the jaws; control means,effective when the support has arrived at said upper support position,to cause the second motor to move the second rod upwardly underrelatively heavy pressure to thereby cause the pincers closing member toimpart closing movement to the pincers jaws under a relatively heavyforce; and means thereafter enabling the first motor to be actuatedtolower the first rod and thereby lower the pincers from said upperpincers position.

5. The mechanism as defined in claim 4 further comprising: meansresponsive to the arrival of the support at said upper support positionto operate said control means.

6. The mechanism as defined in claim 5 further comprising: a post, towhich the support is secured, mounted for heightwise movement; meansinitially retaining the post in a lower position to thereby retain thesupport in said lower support position; means for raising the post tothereby raise the support to said upper support position; means mountingsaid control means to said post for heightwise movement therewith; anactuator, located in registry with the control means above the controlmeans, mounted to the post for heightwise movement; means yieldablyurging the actuator upwardly with respect to the post; and a stud sofixedly located above the actuator in registry with the actuator as tolower the actuator with respect to the post and thus cause the actuatorto actuate the control means when the post has raised the support tosaid upper support position.

1. A pulling over mechanism comprising: a support, mounted forheightwise movement between lower and upper support positions, forsupporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that includes a last having anupper mounted thereon; a pincers formed of a pair of jaws that areclosable towards each other from an open position wherein the jaws arespaced from each other; means mounting the pincers for heightwisemovement; pincers closing means operable to impart closing movement tothe pincers jaws under a variable force; means retaining the pincers inan upper pincers position; means initially retaining the support in saidlower support position; means thereafter raising the support from saidlower support position to said upper support position to thereby raisethe shoe assembly; means, effective during said rise of the support, tocause the pincers closing means to impart closing movement to thepincers jaws under a relatively light force against the margin of theupper which is inserted between the jaws; control means, effective whenthe support has arrived at said upper support position, to cause thepincers closing means to impart closing movement to the pincers jawsunder a relatively heavy force; and means thereafter enabling thepincers to be lowered from said upper pincers position.
 2. The mechanismas defined in claim 1 further comprising: means responsIve to thearrival of the support at said upper support position to operate saidcontrol means.
 3. The mechanism as defined in claim 2 furthercomprising: a post, to which the support is secured, mounted forheightwise movement; means initially retaining the post in a lowerposition to thereby retain the support in said lower support position;means for raising the post to thereby raise the support to said uppersupport position; means mounting said control means to said post forheightwise movement therewith; an actuator, located in registry with thecontrol means above the control means, mounted to the post forheightwise movement; means yieldably urging the actuator upwardly withrespect to the post; and a stud so fixedly located above the actuator inregistry with the actuator as to lower the actuator with respect to thepost and thus cause the actuator to actuate the control means when thepost has raised the support to said upper support position.
 4. A pullingover mechanism comprising: a support, mounted for heightwise movementbetween lower and upper support positions, for supporting bottom-down ashoe assembly that includes a last having an upper mounted thereon; apincers base; a first motor, mounted to said pincers base, having afirst rod that is movable heightwise in response to actuation of saidfirst motor; a second motor, connected to said first rod, having asecond rod that is movable heightwise in response to actuation of saidsecond motor; a pincers, mounted to said second motor, formed of a pairof jaws that are closable towards each other from an open positionwherein the jaws are spaced from each other; a pincers closing memberconnected to the second rod; said pincers jaws and said pincers closingmember being so constructed and arranged as to cause the pincers closingmember to close the jaws, in response to the raising of the second rod,an amount that is proportional to the elevation of the pincers closingmember by the second rod; means causing the first motor to raise thefirst rod to thereby retain the pincers in an upper pincers position;means initially retaining the support in said lower support position;means thereafter raising the support from said lower support position tosaid upper support position to thereby raise the shoe assembly; means,effective during said rise of the support, to cause the second motor tomove the second rod upwardly under relatively low pressure to therebycause the pincers closing member to impart closing movement to thepincers jaws under a relatively light force against the margin of theupper which is inserted between the jaws; control means, effective whenthe support has arrived at said upper support position, to cause thesecond motor to move the second rod upwardly under relatively heavypressure to thereby cause the pincers closing member to impart closingmovement to the pincers jaws under a relatively heavy force; and meansthereafter enabling the first motor to be actuated to lower the firstrod and thereby lower the pincers from said upper pincers position. 5.The mechanism as defined in claim 4 further comprising: means responsiveto the arrival of the support at said upper support position to operatesaid control means.
 6. The mechanism as defined in claim 5 furthercomprising: a post, to which the support is secured, mounted forheightwise movement; means initially retaining the post in a lowerposition to thereby retain the support in said lower support position;means for raising the post to thereby raise the support to said uppersupport position; means mounting said control means to said post forheightwise movement therewith; an actuator, located in registry with thecontrol means above the control means, mounted to the post forheightwise movement; means yieldably urging the actuator upwardly withrespect to the post; and a stud so fixedly located above the actuator inregistry with the actuator as to lower the actuator with respect to thepost and thus cause the actuator to actuate the Control means when thepost has raised the support to said upper support position.